FO responds to speculation: Govt has no plan to offer air bases to foreign govt

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday rubbished “speculations” of Pakistan giving “two airbases” to the United States for its drone surveillance operation against Iran and Afghanistan, saying Pakistan has no plans to offer any of its airbases to any foreign government against any other country.

Responding to media queries during her weekly news briefing about certain claims made on social media and also by the opposition leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch rejected these “speculations” as “baseless and unfounded”.

“We reject these baseless and unfounded speculations, which absolutely have no basis… Pakistan has no plans to offer (air) bases to a foreign government or military, directed against anyone,” she stated in categorical terms.

Govt has given two airbases to US, claims Omar

To a question about former adviser on accountability Shehzad Akbar’s allegations against several high-level Pakistani officials about their alleged involvement in a recent acid attack on him in London, the spokesperson categorically rejected the claims, saying Pakistan never indulges in extraterritorial acts against its own nationals.

“We categorically reject the allegations made by Shehzad Akbar against the State of Pakistan and its institutions and agencies. These claims are baseless and politically motivated. As we have said in the past, safety and security of Pakistani nationals, wherever they are, are a matter of priority for Pakistan. It’s not the policy of Pakistan to target its own nationals abroad,” she said.

She pointed out that several high-profile political dissidents have been living in the United Kingdom for several decades and they have often indulged in vitriol and invective against Pakistan.

“Some of them have maintained links with terrorist entities inside Pakistan. Pakistan has not engaged in any extraterritorial acts against these individuals. So, Shehzad Akbar’s claims are simply preposterous,” she added.

Commenting on the recent incident faced by German Ambassador Alfred Grannas during an event in Lahore when some pro-Palestine activists interrupted his speech to record a protest over Germany’s pro-Israel policy, Baloch termed the exchange between the German Ambassador and the students as regrettable and hoped that the incident would trigger a constructive dialogue on Western governments’ selectivity and double standards on human rights’ issues.

She said that the late Asma Jahangir was an icon of human rights and democracy in Pakistan. Throughout her life, the spokesperson added that Asma Jahangir stood for the freedom of expression and opinion.

“It’s understandable that some participants wanted to exercise their fundamental right to speech at an event honouring her memory. The ongoing genocide in Gaza has distressed people and heightened passions around the world, including in Pakistan. We hope this weekend’s incident will be a time for reflection and would trigger a constructive dialogue on (Western governments) selectivity and double standards on human rights issues,” she added.

Responding to another query about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claims that India had informed Pakistan prior to the February 2019 Balakot incident, she refuted the claims, saying that there has been a rewriting of history as many statements have come since the incident which are not based on facts and aimed at taking political mileage.

She also stated that the people and armed forces of Pakistan are ready to defend the country against all intrusions from any quarters.

To another question about India’s global assassination campaign, including the latest reports which claim that the Australian government kicked out Indian spies after being caught trying to steal secrets about sensitive defence projects and airport security, the spokesperson recalled that Pakistan had been saying that India’s network of espionage, subversion and extraterritorial and extrajudicial killings, which has been very active in South Asia over the last several decades, has now expanded to several continents.

She said that this India’s network of espionage is now a matter of concern for the international community. She said that Pakistan has presented concrete evidence of the involvement of Indian agents in terror attacks inside Pakistan and extraterritorial and extrajudicial killings of Pakistani nationals on Pakistani territory.

“These acts are illegal and are in violation of international laws, the UN charter, and the basic precepts of justice and due process.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024